The York Region Critical Incident Stress Management Team
invites First Responders and their Families (16yrs+) to:
3 Seconds that Changed My Life and
The 10 Life Lessons that Followed
How Big is Your Umbrella? Promoting Resilience and
Shielding Your Spirit from a Traumatic World
Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 from 6-9pm
at Old Town Hall, 460 Botsford St, Newmarket (map)
Speakers
Stephanie MacLeod, Teacher and Motivational Speaker
Joddie Walker, MSc, RP, CTS – Certified Trauma Specialist
Special Guests
Jenn Gleitman, Yogi and Mindfullness Expert
PTSD Service Dog Blarney and her handler Shane Fisher
Tickets are free and can be reserved through Eventbrite
Donations accepted at door. Refreshments served.
Parking information
Speaker Stephanie MacLeod has a truly remarkable story of survival, positivity and resilience. She has suffered setbacks, endured defeats, and stared her physical, mental and emotional demons in the eye. She has re-evaluated her bucket list and has found a way to thrive even when faced with harsh realities and often daunting negativity. Stephanie MacLeod’s focus is to share the 3 seconds that changed her life, and the 10 life lessons that followed.
Stephanie’s only regret is that it took a near death experience to open her eyes and to change her life. As part of her healing, Stephanie made the choice to personally thank the 53 first responders who played roles in saving her life that day. She speaks a naked truth about PTSD and mental health and how it impacts our lives. She has shared her story at Southlake Hospital, with York Region EMS Services/First Responders as well as with the King City Firehall.
When Stephanie is not motivational speaking, she is a Special Needs teacher focusing on teaching children with Autism. During her “me” time, Stephanie enjoys cooking, being a dog mom to her puppy Timbit, building memories with family and friends, and planning her next travel adventure.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts/Psychology and a Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University and has more than a decade of experience supporting children and families of children with Autism.
Keynote Topics:
- Motivation – Focusing on the positive, achieving results and staying motivated
- Resilience – coping with setbacks, learning from mistakes, and moving forward
- Finding your Joy – feel the joy of living at your best regardless of life’s challenges
- Wellness – being attentive to your thoughts, feelings and behaviour
- Perspective – gain a new perspective on seemingly impossible circumstances
Speaker Joddie Walker holds a Masters of Science in Forensic Psychology and is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, and a Certified Trauma Specialist from National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. She holds Diplomate status with the American Academy of Traumatic Stress and is a National (USA) Credentialed Advanced Advocate. Joddie has 25 years of experience with domestic violence, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, adult survivors of child abuse and families of homicide. In addition, she aided first responders as part of two critical incident stress teams.
Joddie’s philosophy to treatment is the use of evidenced-based and trauma-informed practices in a strength-based, multi-disciplinary approach. With vast experience working in the criminal justice system, she understands the secondary victimization that compounds the primary trauma and thus integrates a multi-system approach to her work to minimize such. Helping clients become empowered in their own healing, Joddie is trained in TF-CBT,
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), and Structured Intervention Trauma-Child and Adolescent (SIT-CAP). She specializes in trauma assessment and treatment, grief and loss, stress and anxiety issues for children, adolescents and their parents. Additional areas of expertise include a sub-specialty with first responders and their families, and other professionals who are in the helping profession who may be experiencing PTSD or secondary traumatic stress.
In addition to Joddie’s clinical practice, she conducts trainings throughout the USA and Canada on topics such as line of duty death, victimology issues, sexual offenders , secondary traumatic stress and multi-disciplinary team approach to child abuse response and treatment.
Outside of work, she enjoys the gift of laughter with family and friends. Special interests include golfing and writing.
How Big Is Your Umbrella?
Promoting Resilience and Shielding Your Spirit from a Traumatic World
Being in the helping profession, you are called upon to respond to individuals and families in crisis on a daily basis. You understand the immediate and long term impact that exposure to trauma has on the victim’s you serve. Yet, most first responders do not understand, or ignore, the personal and professional impact this exposure has on your overall well-being.
This talk will provide both first responders and their family members with the necessary information on secondary traumatic stress and the potential for eroding one’s physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual health. Learn how to build up one’s resilience through understanding the role it plays in our work and how it can sustain us for a long, fulfilling career and enriched personal life.
Joddie Walker interweaves research with her own secondary traumatic stress experiences from working with crime victims, first responders and mass terrorism response. The journey through her lived experience and as well as witnessing her client’s recovery from PTSD, leads to take away strategies for shielding your own spirit.
Joddie Walker’s personal mission continues to shine:
Bringing hope to those whose role it is to bring hope to others.